“My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for He has looked on the humble estate of His servant. For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed; for He who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is His name.” – Luke 1:46-49
In Sunday morning’s service, we looked at Mary’s reflection on her virgin conception. We noted that instead of collecting grievances and problems, Mary was collecting memories of God’s goodness to her. By application, we are challenged to do the same.
Today, we are wrapping up the 30th day of treatment for Kimberly’s lung cancer. Over the past four weeks Kimberly has gone through two infusions of chemo and taken a daily targeted treatment for her disease. As we are walking through this season, we have asked you all to pray with us that God would be glorified through this journey and that we would see God’s goodness toward us. We want to follow Mary’s example and collect memories and experiences of God’s goodness to us in all circumstances.
So, we want to say that our souls magnify the Lord, and our spirits rejoice in God our Savior, for He has looked upon us with kindness and grace and has done great things for us. He has shown us kindness through the care, prayer, and concern of our family and friends. He has shown His kindness in the excellent care we have seen from our Norman doctors and nurses. He has shown us His kindness in the second opinion of a doctor at MD Anderson Hospital in Houston who confirmed the treatment plan being administered by our local team at OU Stephenson Cancer Center. He has shown us His kindness through some good time together as a family over the Thanksgiving holiday. He has shown us His kindness through the joy of celebrating the Advent season reflecting on His goodness in Christ Jesus our Lord. He has shown us His kindness in chance/sovereign encounters at the hospital during the times of the infusions. He has shown us His kindness by sparing Kimberly (so far) of some of the possible side effects of the chemo. He has shown us His kindness in Josh having a great first semester at OU. He has shown us His kindness in keeping our eyes mostly on Him during this season of uncertainty and “new.”
God is worthy of our trust and praise at all times, regardless of our circumstances. God is worthy of our trust and praise when we are diagnosed with illness, and when we are pronounced cancer free (we are hopeful for this one day!) God is worthy of our trust and praise when the side effects are moderate, and when the fatigue and nausea set in. God is worthy of our trust and praise when we get to go to our staff/elder Christmas party together, and when Kimberly stays home from other events when not feeling up to it. God is worthy of our trust and praise when her chest hurts less and when we are wondering about the progress and effectiveness of the treatment. He is worthy all the time … because He is worthy! Not just because of what He does, but because of who He is. We are thankful we are His, as we cannot imagine facing the uncertainty of this life without the certainty of His love and care.
Thanks for continuing to pray with us, and help us collect expressions of God’s goodness and grace along the way. Just as He cared for Mary through Elizabeth (Luke 1:39-45), God is caring for us through you. We are thankful and we are blessed.